Kollywood's 'Thala' in attendance at Chepauk Stadium for CSK vs SRH IPL 2025 match [Watch]

One of Kollywood's biggest stars, Ajith Kumar was at Chepauk Stadium for the ongoing IPL 2025 clash between the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 25. Popularly called 'Thala' among the fans in Tamil Nadu, Ajith has been rarely seen at public events over the years.

The veteran actor was spotted wearing a black suit with his wife, Shalini, and son Aadvaik. Ajith has enjoyed back-to-back Tamil movie releases with 'Vidaamuyarchi' and 'Good Bad Ugly'.

The latter is still enjoying a successful run in theatres after releasing worldwide on April 10.

Here is a clip of Ajith getting himself seated at the Chepauk Stadium for the CSK-SRH match:

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Fans on social media went berserk with references like 'Kollywood's Thala watching Cricket's Thala (MS Dhoni)' after seeing the former at Chepauk Stadium. Ajith and Shalini celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary with videos of the pair having cake on April 24.

Incidentally, Ajith will also celebrate his 54th birthday a week from today on May 1.

CSK's 'Thala' disappoints with the bat against SRH

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Ajith Kumar's presence had no positive impact on a struggling CSK unit in their first innings against SRH. Batting first after SRH skipper Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bowl first, CSK stuttered to a sub-par 154 all-out in 19.5 overs.

The innings got off to the worst possible start for CSK, with opener Shaik Rasheed falling for a first-ball duck. Wickets kept tumbling for the home side at regular intervals despite the odd partnerships, resulting in a lack of acceleration at the end.

Skipper MS Dhoni was one of the several disappointments, scoring only a ten-ball six.

Playing in his first match this season, South African Dewald Brevis top-scored with a sublime 42 off 25 deliveries. However, Brevis aside, only 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre reached 30 in CSK's innings.

CSK and SRH entered this contest with only two wins in eight outings, starting at elimination from playoff contention. After opening their 2025 IPL campaign with a win over the Mumbai Indians (MI), the Men in Yellow have lost six out of their last seven matches.

They have also uncharacteristically struggled at home, winning only one out of their four games at Chepauk Stadium.

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Venkatesh has been writing cricket news, listicle and feature articles for Sportskeeda for over a year. He loves cricket because of the diversity of the playing fields and its unparalleled nuances, which no other sport presents. He also enjoys the analytical and quantitative side of the sport, which originates from his MBA degree and 10 years of experience in the IT industry in companies like Infosys, Atos and TCS.

Venkatesh ensures proper research from reliable sources and social media trends to gather information, and adds his own dash of creativity to create insightful content.

He started watching cricket in the late 1990s, having been impressed with South Africa and New Zealand’s gentleman-like attitude. Domestically, he supports the Chennai Super Kings for their ability to bring the best out of their players owing to a friendly and conducive team environment.

He admires three cricketers the most – Brian Lara for his batting style, AB de Villiers for changing the paradigm of batting and MS Dhoni for his unique cerebral approach to field placings and batting. Along with cricket, Venkatesh also enjoys watching and playing tennis and basketball. In his free time, he finds pleasure in singing and watching movies and web series.

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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran